FCC's Ferree moves to public TV as COO

March 20, 2005

Ken Ferree, the FCC media bureau chief under former FCC Chairman Michael Powell, has moved to public broadcasting. Ferree is joining the Corporation for Public Broadcasting as its chief operating officer.

At the FCC, Ferree formulated policy on cable TV, broadcast TV and radio, and direct-broadcast satellite services for approval by the agency’s politically appointed commissioners. Among his major projects were media ownership rules that — had they survived a court challenge — would have let big media companies grow larger. His plan would have ended the transition to digital TV by 2009.